Many of today's large computer systems demand mass storage capabilities. To accommodate such requirements, a variety of mass storage schemes and devices have been proposed, including fixed disk drives, backup tape, mirrored drives, and the like. One promising type of mass storage device is a removable disk drive that may be manually inserted into and removed from a computer system. Such disk drives provide large storage capabilities while also providing convenience by allowing the disk drive to be easily removed and replaced, such as in the case of disk drive failure.
One problem faced by many data storage systems is the need to keep the stored data confidential. A variety of schemes have been proposed to protect access to confidential data. For example, many computer systems include software applications that require passwords or other special knowledge to gain access to confidential information.
Although such protection schemes may be useful with computer systems having permanently mounted storage systems, such schemes are ill suited for use with removable disk drives. For example, access to the data on a removable drive may be simply obtained by removing the disk drive and inserting it into another computer system to gain access to the confidential data.
Hence, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods for preventing or substantially hindering undesirable access to confidential information stored on a removable disk drive. Such systems and methods should also be easy and convenient to use in order to facilitate removal of the disk drive when desired.